Those Sunny Days

Now, being a non-Vancouverite, I’ve been told (toooo many times to count) that this spectacularly glorious weather shall not last. That the sunny, cloudless days and the foggy, surreal mornings are mirages in what should be a desert of rain, melancholy, and more rain. That with the fall, shall come the rain; and with the rain, shall come the sadness, the SAD, and the depression.

So please forgive me if my over-active imagination conjures up images like

or, if things get really washed out:

But barring the transformation of my vision into an Impressionistic painter’s dreamscape, I keep convincing myself that life will go on. After all, why can’t the rain do something like this?

But maybe that’s too idealistic. So to bring this back to Earth, the rain-loving fellow sitting on my shoulder came up with some ideas on countering the coming storm:

A) SMILE

With campus security a pressing issue (to put it lightly), it’s all too easy to forget that underneath the veneer of the umbrellas and oversized coats lie a whole lot of nervous human beings. There’s nothing like the exchange of a smile to ease those feelings of distress. It may not be the hectic, hyper-networking Meet-and-Greet that was Orientation Week, but it can only make things better for everyone to take off their masks (Halloween, you’re an exception).

B) Go out running in the rain

Most people say that you’re crazy to go out in the rain.. but what about the benefits? The feeling of loneliness that often accompanies rain can easily become one of tranquility and serene contemplation, with the repetitive patter-patter of the rain drowning out the insecurities and anxieties of the day.

C) Add a little colour to lunchtime

Though many people complain about the food in the residence dining halls, the salad bars have more than enough to make quite the rainbow on your plate. How ’bout some red peppers, spinach, beets (why is it that they always run out as I get to them), and baby corn! Fill in the hues with olives and chia seeds, and you’re got yourself a nutrition powerhouse.

D) Get lost in some good classical music

No, not the Bach that was drilled into your minds, bodies, and souls taught at those seemingly endless piano lessons of your youth. How about Barber’s Adagio For Strings – cited as one of the most-played orchestral works of the 20th-century, for both its sublime simplicity and its transcendent harmonies.

-By the way, if you ever need some motivation to during your workouts and/or other feats of endurance, this helps a ton! Planck position, I’m talking to you.. 🙂 –

Well, as my bio prof so loves to say, that’s all folks! Some topics to look forward to in the next little while:

-Pictures of Wreck Beach (no no, not those kinds of pictures; at least not intentionally..)